Bank of England

FSA chief executive Hector Sants is thought to be uncomfortable with Governor Mervyn King's hardline stance on the banking system which helped hurl Britain into recesssion.

The Bank of England has held interest rates at 0.5% and kept its quantitative easing programme at £200bn - despite growing calls for a rate hike amid spiralling inflation.

Goldman Sachs European economist Ben Broadbent will replace Andrew Sentance as external member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

The Treasury Select Committee (TSC) has launched an inquiry into the Bank of England's (BoE) accountability before its powers are extended in the government's regulatory shake-up.

Bank of England deputy governor Charlie Bean has defended MPC policy in the face of persistently high inflation, warning the economy could be on the verge of a "durable slowing".

Bank of England governor Mervyn King has not ruled out another round of quantitative easing and has reiterated his belief the UK recovery will be choppy.

Mortgage lending increased by £1.8bn in January, the highest amount since February last year, the Bank of England has reported.

Sterling rose against the dollar and the euro after monetary policy committee (MPC) minutes for February showed a more hawkish outlook than expected.

The Chancellor has defended the Bank of England over rising inflation and denied the government is making its job more difficult.

Final salary pension scheme members could see a 4% cut in benefits after the BoE used miscalculated inflation rates for more than a decade, experts say.